Growth deal to create 4,000 jobs in north Wales by 2036, councillors told

Councillors have been given assurances that a multimillion-pound investment project will deliver on its pledge to create 4,000 jobs in north Wales.

The North Wales Growth Deal secured £240m from the UK and Welsh governments to invest in transport, planning and economic development projects in 2020.

The plan is to secure a total of £1bn in public and private sector backing by 2036.

Wrexham councillors questioned its progress after a report said it had so far created 121 jobs, with 63 full-time and 58 construction roles across seven projects.

But a director for Ambition North Wales, a partnership which includes the region's biggest councils, said the jobs would come by the end of the deal.

Councillor Andy Gallanders said a project report given to the scrutiny committee "talks successfully about the business cases, the procurement, project development, but the actual number of jobs delivered is very low compared to the ambition".

"Can you give us a realistic timetable of delivering the 4,000-plus jobs?" he added.

Hedd Vaughan-Evans, from Ambition North Wales, said job numbers would "ramp up significantly over the next two to three years but the total figure will be achieved towards the end of the growth deal period".

"There is obviously a time lag in terms of the investments," he said.

"And we've had challenges in the first few years of the growth deal in delivering the investments."

The partnership's website highlights a raft of projects including Holyhead Hydrogen Hub, Gwynedd, a £22m project to establish a new green energy facility at Parc Cybi.

Vaughan-Evans said: "The first thing you will see is the construction jobs start to increase.

"Once the facilities are completed, that is when we will see the majority of the job creation."

Councillors raised concerns about the pace of progress over the so-called Wrexham Gateway project to build a new transport hub and commercial development opposite Wrexham General train station which Gallanders said was earmarked to create in the region of 700 jobs.

Ambition property manager David Mathews said: "Discussions are still ongoing between the agents on behalf of the authority and potentially interested occupiers."

The committee voted in favour of receiving an update on that project by November, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.